Just Another Movie Night
by darth typhoon
Summary: One-shot. What starts as a usual night in watching movies becomes unexpectedly complicated. Setting: after RE4. Rated to be safe for mild language. Casual/non-action and mildly fluffy. Pairing: Leon/Ashley. You've been warned!


This is just a somewhat on-the-fly one-shot that came to me in the last 24 hours. It could take place any time after the incident in Spain, really. I know the 'movie night' scenario is nothing new, but... oh well. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: Resident Evil 4 and all characters and events contained therein are copyright CAPCOM. Only the words are mine.

Note to reviewers: should you feel the need to flame me, do not do so on the basis of the pairing. I tend to respect others' opinions much less when I'm attacked for not sharing them. If you despise Leon/Ashley, please make use of the "back" button sooner rather than later. Thank you.

* * *

There wasn't anything very special about the circumstances. It was just another night in, watching a movie or two at her place. Movie number one had just ended, and he had gotten up and gone to the kitchen to refill his empty glass with Coca-Cola. She was still in the nearby living room, switching DVDs and finishing off her slice of pizza.

After reaching into the freezer for an ice cube tray, he closed the freezer door to find her on the other side of it. She froze for half a second in surprise, then held up her plate and smiled.

"Gone already? What did you do, inhale it?" Leon S. Kennedy teased, earning him a smirk and a jab in the ribs.

The young woman moved past him, placing her plate on the counter with the other dirty dishes. "Y'know, it's amazing how many jokes you can make about my weight and still stay on my good side." Ashley Graham pushed a blond strand of hair behind her ear and shot him a playful look. "Most guys would be protecting themselves by now."

Leon scoffed, turning his attention to the ice cubes and his empty glass. "From you?" he replied in mock disdain, then added in a lower tone, "pussies."

Ashley's mouth dropped open, pretending to be shocked and offended. The agent glanced at her and his mouth curved into a half-grin. Her expression clearly asked 'is that a challenge?' even though they both knew she wouldn't get very far.

He had just replaced the ice cube tray and was closing the freezer door when her foot connected with the back of his thigh. He barely flinched. Her fists and feet shot out at whatever was most convenient, and he poured his glass of Coke, slightly dodging or blocking some hits but mostly just letting her hit him. He continued to smirk, and she grinned, starting to giggle. Her beagle trotted to the entrance to the kitchen and sat down, watching them.

He recapped the two-liter of Coke, leaned with his back to the counter and crossed his arms, giving her a sidelong stare and shaking his head slowly. She hit him a couple more times before sighing, putting one hand on her hip, and reaching up toward his head with the other. Suddenly, his hand closed around her wrist, stopping her just short of tousling his hair.

"You're no fun," she laughed. His hair was always off-limits.

She started to back up, and Leon noticed the dog stand up and trot towards her.

"Uh..." he started.

Ashley started to turn, seeing the dog, but it was too late. She tripped over herself instead of the dog and lost her balance. He dove forward.

It should have been simple enough. Stopping the fall of someone her size should have been easy. What he didn't count on was the beagle. It scampered out of her way and into his. He reached for her arms, lost his footing, and then they were both falling. His split-second judgment kicked in, and he slipped his hand around the back of her head. There was a loud _clang_, then they hit the floor.

Ashley let out an "oof" as the wind was knocked out of her. Leon grimaced at the sharp pain in the knee and elbow which came into hard contact with the linoleum, and the knuckles which felt nearly crushed between Ashley's skull and the floor. Then he put a hand to the side of his head, which suddenly hurt more than anywhere else.

"Urgh..." he groaned.

Ashley blinked a few times, registering what had happened and where they were now. The distraction of Leon's thigh on hers fizzled when she noticed how much pain he seemed to be in. "Oh, no. What happened?" Her voice was suddenly concerned, and she lifted a hand to his shoulder.

He grumbled, "hit my head," and carefully pulled his hand from under her head. He pushed himself up a bit.

"Let me see," she directed, her hand hovering close to his head.

He gave her a look that seemed slightly irritated, but, after a few seconds of her puppy-dog eyes, he sighed and dropped his hand.

She lightly pulled him back down a little, and gingerly pushed his hair out of the way, finding a nasty lump and the beginnings of a bruise above his temple. She frowned and remarked, "at least you aren't bleeding."

He gave a slight nod of thanks, but before he could start to push himself up again, she softly moved her hand to the back of his head, lifted her own head upward, and lay a gentle kiss above his temple murmuring, "I'm so sorry."

Maybe it was the situation. Maybe it was her compassionate gesture. Maybe it was the way she felt so small, feminine, and... just damned _cute_ beneath him. Maybe the knock to his head just scrambled his brain. Whatever it was, it momentarily shut off his inner voice of reason and caused him to do something that he had been trained and been training himself to _not_ do for so many years. He lost himself.

As her mouth left his temple, his head turned, allowing their cheeks to brush one another's before he smoothly placed his lips on hers.

It wasn't until she got over her shock and eased into the kiss that his content enjoyment of the situation was broken by being abruptly kicked in the ass by his inner voice of reason. Then every singular reason why he should not have done what he did came flooding back into his mind. _Shhhhhit, you've done it now, Kennedy..._

He faltered, and she gently broke the contact. He realized how apparent his 'oh shit' reaction must have been when she looked up at him with an odd, yet endearing mixture of warmth, empathy, disappointment, and wry amusement.

"Let me guess. 'Oops?'" She said in a soft voice that was, to him, unexpectedly unsurprised.

He stared at her, feeling the guilt and shame slowly gnaw away every trace of pleasure he had felt a few minutes prior. "...Yeah," he replied finally. _Oops..._

She simply nodded. The fact that she seemed to expect what had happened rather than having had her hopes destroyed should have made him feel a little better, but it only made him feel worse somehow. Apologetic blue eyes stared into compassionate amber eyes in a silence that was becoming faintly awkward as long seconds passed and they remained on the floor, unmoving.

The pink tongue of the little dog applied to Ashley's face knocked them both out of the trance. She giggled and scratched the beagle behind the ears and Leon finally pushed himself into a sitting position. He told himself how thankful he was for the intrusion, even as he tried to ignore the knowledge that he wasn't entirely.

After lingering for a short moment, he stood and offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. He placed the two-liter in the refrigerator and grabbed his glass of Coke and mostly-melted ice, his mind still mostly absent. When he turned to go back into the living room, he nearly ran into her. She looked at him for a second, as if determining something to say, then moved forward to give him a hug.

Her words were quiet, breathed on his neck. "This doesn't have to change anything, ok?"

Then she stepped back, her hands resting on his shoulders, and smiled at him. A part of him wished he didn't see the tint of sadness in her eyes. He met her smiling facade with a reassuring one of his own, and nodded. She nodded back, turned, and went back to the living room. After a second, he followed her, and she started up the movie.

For the next two hours, everything appeared to be as usual, though it was anyone's guess how much attention either of them paid to the movie itself.


End file.
